How do you leverage your partners' communication channels to reach new audiences or markets?

Partnerships are a great way to expand your reach (new segments, industries, geos etc.) by leveraging your partners' channels and connections. In order to most effectively use your partners' channels, start with joint goals and what success looks like for both you and your partner. Then work backwards to how to activate their channels for maximum impact.

The very essence of a strategic partnership is being able to leverage each others strengths, channels and stakeholders in order to maximise reach and growth for both companies. The way in which I have always approached strategic partnerships, is by first ensuring there is alignment of trust, honesty, mission and vision. This will be essential in respectful use of each others channels, and ultimately maximum gain for the relationship outcome.

Make sure to discuss potential co-marketing channels early on in the partnership. Depending on the situation, t's also a possibility to formally agree on key campaigns and/or events in the partnership agreement. Nevertheless, it's critical to align on the objective of the activity and define key metrics that tells you wether or not the effort delivered the expected results.

From my perspective, the single most important component that will drive aligned (or minimally coordinated) comms relates to establishing the objective upfront as part of the partner agreement or partnership expectations. Without the baseline, the potential for 1+1=3 is moot. With the baseline established, align your comms and marketing teams to ensure that there is a model in place where brand is protected, guidelines are understood, dispute resolution is clear, areas of collaboration are agreed (with MDF potentially playing a role) and objectives aligned. It is also important to have quality, capable and collaborative people at the top ready and able to work with the partner to finetune, adjust or change.

Define and align your brand and business journey with that of your partners. This will help you create the right comms strategy that will be the guiding force for your partnership comms. Its not just about putting out content, its about 2 or more brands and stakeholders talking together to a target audience of similar interests.

Maximize your partners' communication channels by aligning with those that best fit your brand identity and customer profile. Analyze audience engagement data to select channels that promise the highest interaction rates. Tailor your content to resonate specifically with each partner's audience to foster meaningful connections and drive conversion.

Choosing the best communication channel is very important. A great real-life example of a successful partnership is the collaboration between Spotify and Uber. In 2014, these two companies teamed up to make Uber rides more enjoyable by letting passengers control the music through their Spotify accounts. The partnership had a clear goal: Spotify wanted to boost brand awareness and engagement, while Uber aimed to offer a unique, personalized experience to its riders. Joining forces not only increased visibility for both brands but also built trust with their customers. They spread the word through app notifications and social media, directly reaching users where they were already engaged.

Based on the joint audience you are trying to reach, select the mix of channels that you can share with your partners to reach the audience. Cross Endorsing, featuring and tagging between partners is a key benefit and feature of all partnerships. And executing this will lead to a lot of benefits. The brand association, trust and confidence it builds in the market in front of your customers is immense.

An absolutely important step in ensuring we get maximum value from partnerships is identifying the most optimal way to reach partners’ customers. It is important to ensure mutual value is provided. Most customers, when they receive promotional offers from a recently established partnership, anticipate something being sold to them. The key to providing value is to allow customers to experience the benefits of the partnership with no strings attached, allowing them to experience the value-add in its true sense. Once the partnership value is strengthened and well understood by potential customers, actual success on all fronts, including monetarily, comes out.

Ensure to have your comms vetted by your partner to ensure there is brand alignment and no conflict of messaging, tone and appeal. This will ensure a synergistic communication that will serve all stakeholders well. Customizing value and highlighting it goes a long way in making your target audience feel valued.

Engage with your partners communities and forums. Contribute value, answer questions, and participate in discussions to increase your visibility and credibility within those communities.

Beyond basic metrics, successful leveraging of partners' communication channels requires deeper integration. Build shared content calendars to ensure message alignment and leverage insights from partners’ A/B testing to refine strategies. Incorporate co-branded campaigns to boost credibility and reach, and employ advanced analytics to predict and shape future interactions. This proactive approach not only enhances current efforts but sets a strong foundation for sustained, mutual growth.

Ask feedback from your partners related to the content delivery and engagement of your comms to the target audience. This will help to get a better understanding of the acceptance and interpretation of your comms and how the audience perceives your brand association and partnership.

Cross-Promotion on Social Media by sharing and promoting each other’s content on your respective social media channels. This could involve sharing posts, conducting social media takeovers, or creating co-branded social media campaigns. It’s a straightforward way to get your brand in front of a new audience.

Step #1 is understanding where your partners have reach. There may be areas where you can leverage your partner's network to tap into areas you otherwise could not. What you may view as cost-prohibitive may be right in your partner's wheelhouse. The magic happens when you discover where the marginal cost to each party is insignificant but the impact is material.

Expanding your market reach through partners' channels also involves cultural alignment and timing. Consider local market nuances to tailor messages, ensuring they resonate. Timing releases with partners’ major events or launches can amplify impact. Harnessing the power of micro-influencers within partner ecosystems can also drive authentic engagement, creating a ripple effect that reaches untapped audiences. Each partnership offers unique opportunities to innovate in how you connect with new markets.

To leverage partners' communication channels effectively, start by identifying those whose audience aligns with yours. Develop content together, ensuring it resonates with both audiences. Implement cross-promotion strategies to expand reach through each other's platforms. Utilize partner events to strengthen relationships and engage directly with potential customers. By prioritizing these collaborative efforts and nurturing strong partnerships with strategic allies, brands can effectively leverage partners' communication channels to broaden their reach, engage new audiences, and drive business growth.